First, a text on developing professional identity must begin by having students
examine who they are today and how they got there. A person must
understand who she is before she can develop a professional identity.

Second, exercises for developing professional identity must cause students to
reflect deeply on who they are, what the legal profession is, and how they will
fit into the legal profession. Students must learn to exercise practical
wisdom–the “capacity for resolving, through reflection, the question of what
one is to do.” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Practical
Reason). Developing this skill involves doing reflection questions and
problem-solving exercises. It also involves being able to look at
problems through the viewpoints of others.

Third, students must become self-regulated learners. They need to be able
to learn on their own and have an enthusiasm for learning. They must not
be afraid of making mistakes because much learning comes from making
mistakes. Professionals must become life-long learners.

Fourth, students must understand cognitive biases in themselves and
others. If lawyers fail to understand that the human thinking process is
imperfect, they will being doing a disservice to themselves and to their
clients.*

Fifth, students must learn to deal with their own well-being. Attorney
well-being is essential for competence.

Sixth, an attorney’s greatest duty is service to others. Being a lawyer
is a profession, and society has given those in this profession many
benefits. However, with benefits come duties, and a lawyer must never
forget those duties.

Seventh, law professors should not teach law students an ideology; we must
teach students to think for themselves. If we teach them correctly, they
will do the right thing.

Probably the most important thing I learned in writing this book is that
professional identity cannot be taught in the way that professional
responsibility has been traditionally taught–through learning rules and
applying those rules to facts. We must help students create “foundational
frameworks for making moral judgments,” rather than just giving them the minimum
or scaring them into behaving by showing them the consequences of breaking the
rules. (Bebeau & Monson, Guided by Theory, Grounded in Evidence 564
(2008)). Being a professional involves the inner self.

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Beyond the Rule is a blog recognizing that teaching a person to be a lawyer involves educating the whole person, and in particular assisting the law student to form a moral compass so that the student is more likely to develop a professional identity and practice law ethically.